Playa Brava Beach Circuit
2014 Punta del Este ePrix | lastrace = 2018 Punta del Este E-Prix | cityflag = MLD | natflag = URU | fastestlap = 1:16.811 | natfld = ARG | fldriver = José María López | qualifying = 1:15.408 | natqd = FRA | qdriver = Jean-Éric Vergne | wins = 2 | natwd = SUI | wdriver = Sébastien Buemi}} The Playa Brava Beach Circuit is a temporary street circuit established in Punta del Este, Uruguay, which hosted three Punta del Este E-Prix between 2014/15 and 2017/18 as rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Alternately known as the Punta del Este Street Circuit, the Playa Brava Beach Circuit has also hosted two in-season tests for FE, although has since fallen off the calendar for 2018/19 onward.'ABB FIA Formula E Championship Season 5', info.fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 07/06/2018), http://info.fiaformulae.com/season-5-calendar/, (Accessed 07/06/2018) Background The Playa Brava Beach Circuit was first created in 1981 to host the Argentina Formula 2 Championship, and would a remain a regular fixture on their calendar through to 1988.'Punta del Este', racingcircuits.info, (Racing Circuits, 2019), https://www.racingcircuits.info/south-america/uruguay/punta-del-este.html, (Accessed 07/10/2019) The Circuit was abandoned beyond that point, before being completely redesigned in 2007 in order to host the Argentine TC2000 Series after an expansion by the series across South America.'Circuit guide: Punta del Este', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/calendar/2014-punta-del-este/punta-del-este-circuit.aspx, (Accessed 09/07/2015) However, after just three meetings between 2007 and 2010 the Punta del Este circuit was dropped, and would remain dormant until FE visited the circuit in 2014. Formula E History The city of Punta del Este in Uruguay was among the first cities to be picked to host an ePrix ahead of the inaugural 2014/15 FIA Formula E Championship.'Brilliant Buemi wins in Punta del Este', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/12/2014), http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2014/december/brilliant-buemi-wins-in-punta-del-este.aspx, (Accessed 26/04/2015) The Playa Brava Beach Circuit subsequently emerged sa the favourite to host the race, and was duly picked to host the series' third race on 13 December 2014. The race was won by Sébastien Buemi, although there were a lot of complaints about the circuit with regards to the pit-exit. Circuit History Playa Brava Beach was subsequently modified for the 2015 Punta del Este ePrix, with the first chicane swapped from a right-left combo to a left-right, meaning the pit-exit was located on the outside of the corner. Otherwise the circuit would remain unaltered, and would produce the same result as Buemi once again swept to victory.'Buemi back on top', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 19/12/2015), http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/december/buemi-back-on-top.aspx, (Accessed 25/12/2015) The circuit subsequently dropped off the calendar in 2016/17 and 2017/18, only to be reinstated during the latter season after the planned São Paulo E-Prix was cancelled. The winner of the third, and currently last, FE race at the Playa Brava Beach Circuit would be Jean-Éric Vergne. Circuit Layout A lap of Punta del Este opens on a curving start/finish straight, before the field hit the brakes for the first chicane, a left-right combination with an extended sweep right to exit. A set of gentle curves formed turns three and four, before the field hit the brakes for the second chicane, a sharp right-left combination to break up the run to turn eight. Turn eight itself formed effectively an elongated hairpin with turn nine, a pair of 90° lefts that turned the field back on itself. Another chicane followed that complex, with turns ten and eleven forming a left-right combination, followed by another shallow chicane at turn twelve. Turn thirteen appeared as a sweeping right, leading the field into the tightest chicane at turns fourteen and fifteen, a sharp left-right combo. Another curving straight then led the field into the final complex, which opened with a left hand curve of turn sixteen. Turn sixteen quickly developed into the braking zone for turn seventeen a sharp right that immediately opened into turn eighteen, a 90° left. Turn nineteen was a long curve that followed turn eighteen, and would itself end in a hairpin left that appeared to form turn twenty. That hairpin hence left the field back on the start/finish straight, with pit-in on the outside of the hairpin. Records A full list of records for the are outlined below, including a list of race winners. Winners Below is a list of all of the winners of ePrix held at the : Race-by-Race Records The race-by-race records for the are outlined below: References Videos and Images: * References: Category:Circuits Category:Punta del Este ePrix